Old Buildings Being Demolished, How to Detect?

[Monty]

I spent the morning in one of the oldest parts of a medium large city working sites where buildings were being demolished for a big construction project. I was familiar with one of the tracts, that is knowing where structures and parking was located on the property, etc. I made a mental grid and worked an area for about 2 hours and found exactly one clad penny, a broken marble, several pieces of plumbing lead and some copper pipe. I then moved over to where a sidewalk was removed and dug 3 or 4 dry holes which I am beginning to suspect I was getting signals from buried utility lines much deeper. I really had high expectations and was sorely disappointed. I found one area where someone had apparently been there ahead of me and made some shallow digs more at random than anythng else. So, some of you that routinely dig these types of locations with success, how do you determine where to start and how do you determine your game plan for detecting these sites? I know there's bound to be a trove of coins and probably artifacts but where to start?

 

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[spotz]

Jimmy! Check with Free2Detect. FTD hunts this kind of site exclusively & she always has some nice old coin finds to post. Hit her email. Spotz

 

[stoney56]

BK is another. He's pretty experienced and I think possibly knows some ITTHC members from a while back.

 

[TOWcritter]

I agree, talk to Free2Detect. She knows that type of hunting ground.

 

[TORRERO]

I spent the morning in one of the oldest parts of a medium large city working sites where buildings were being demolished for a big construction project.? I was familiar with one of the tracts, that is knowing where structures and parking was located on the property, etc.? I made a mental grid and worked an area for about 2 hours and found exactly one clad penny, a broken marble, several pieces of plumbing lead and some copper pipe.? I then moved over to where a sidewalk was removed and dug 3 or 4 dry holes which I am beginning to suspect I was getting signals from buried utility lines much deeper.? I really had high expectations and was sorely disappointed. I found one area where someone had apparently been there ahead of me and made some shallow digs more at random than anythng else.? So, some of you that routinely dig these types of locations with success, how do you determine where to start and how do you determine your game plan for detecting these sites?? I know there's bound to be a trove of coins and probably artifacts but where to start?

You know, I believe you are finally coming around to reality, welcome to the real world, from someone who has been hunting for many years
I can tell you that it is extremely rare anymore to find anyplace that produces more than one or two things.
Sometimes I get frustrated watching this forum, and seeing people post tons of wonderful stuff, in a sense like "Show and tell" leading
new people to this hobby to believe that all they have to do is walk around some old place and Indian Head p. and Barbar Dimes and buff nickels
and v-nickels and Seated Liberty coins and Civil War relics such as Bullets and Belt buckles just jump right out of the ground at you.....
and this is so far from the truth....
Most people who can show a collection like that have gotten it over a period of 10 - 15 - 20 or more years, realizing that just 10 years
ago, the ground held 3 to 4 times what it holds now, because with every advancement of technology there is not more and more to find,
but really, less and less...
As for your building sites, you might try to look at the foundations and hunt anywhere outside of what was underneath the buildings.
such as grassy areas or dirt areas under trees or where plants were and now have been removed by the heavy equipment.
I rarely have found things in the dirt where the actual building has been, bit sometimes where the foundations were can be productive.
But the reality is that there probably is not "tons of stuff" out there in this spot just waiting for you to pick it up....
Or why did you not get anything ?
My advise is to take what you read with a grain of salt, and never expect anything until you dig it...
Good luck to you and all the new people on this forum.
Richard

 

[Monty]

I have worked a couple of vacant lots where residential homes were removed and found that I find more stuff if I can figure out which way the dozer is pushing the majority of the earth to level the lot. On both places I found most of the artifacts fairly close together. When you have a small lot it's pretty easy to figure out where to start but with a commercial site covering half a block it's a mystery. I just wish I could have been there when the demo was done that would make it a lot easier. I suppose that should go under the heading of "research"? I could have gone over and watched the buildings come down but instead went coin shooting in the park. I've learned something from this already! And I learned another lesson while I was at it. I have some wire flags like you use to mark underground utilities. I went over one morning and laid out a small grid using the flags as markers. I then went over it briefly and marked some of the hits I found with the flags also. I came back the next morning and someone that evening had come in and dug every one of my flags and then put the flags back! They even dug the ones I used to lay out the grid! I was surprised the flags were still there, a gentleman claim jumper perhaps? That just shows people will do anything for greed.

 

[Lowbatts]

Firstly the foundation and immediate area around a demo site is loaded with junk. ?That's the hardest part of demo hunting and most fruitless. ?Parking lot get dug up? ?Very often a great site becasue the parking lot may have covered some great hunting ground that has never been detected. ?Sidewalk work is great in many cases but in others it's horrible. ?A lot of cinders, nails and RIO's (rusty iron objects) left there to impede your progress. ?On one hand I agree with Rich (Torrerro) because this is not the kind of hunting you can do without going through a lot of junk signalling. ?On the other hand, I've hit hotspots among such sites where there were multiple silvers, nicks and cents. ?Have gotten a few nice halves, tokens, victorian era jewelry also but you have to know your machine's discrmination ability very well. ?

If you find the right site, one that hasn't been hunted heavily and is under sidewalk and demo work, you CAN score really nice depending on how the demo work is done. ?By and large this my preferred type of site for the odler coins around here. ?Realize we don't have a lot of older sites in Chicagoland to begin with so such sites that offer easy pickens are always welcome. ?An old coin here means anything pre-merc or wheatie. ?Watch the parkway, it is the last to be done, it will be scraped prior to being sodded or seeded, that's when you have to get in and hunt it. ?The foil, screw caps and pulltabs are generally taken out of your way at that time and you can hit targets easily.

Hunt around the building when you're all done with the priority spots such as parking lot, open ground space that has been cut or shaved, sidewalks and parkways. ?Prioritize and deal with every target of opportunity as it comes along and you'll be doing good. ?But remember you're in a high trash environment.

 

[Floater]

J ,since I am new to detecting I can only offer you my experience as a contractor and involvement in demolition.
I think Lowbatts hit on some key points and also an attitude which you need to have.
All this said, let me get to it.
1. If the site has just been demoed look at the condition of the entire area..Was the contractor neat? Did they level the site and remove all the surface debris? In other word were they thourough in ther job.? If you answer yes then hunt it.
2. If the area is demoed and it is not been scrapped clean and level then what did they leave. Did you watch the demo. do you think the site is going to produce a lot of falses.Is the area actually dangerous to you. Is there a lot of electrical interference in the area. All of these issues are to be considered.
3. Are you using a detector that can discriminate out the Iron and the other trash and are you good enough and have the experience to do it.( side note,ya don't know till ya try, right) but the point being are you comfortable going to do it.
4.If the site is available and you want to do it whats the difference anyway. After two hours all you find is a matchbook car and a key fob from a pinto then get the hell out of there if its not what ya want. But lets not forget why your there to start with. Your a treasure hunter and what you do is look for treasure. Did you think you were going to find it in every place? ( YES) So go do it. If you think ya got a bigger fish to fry some where else go there. Just remember you found the site and then you didn't hunt it will be with you for ever. You hunt it and it doesn't produce you will forget it and alway remember the ones that do produce. That my friend is just the nature of the beast. HH and go for it. Be carefull and remember to Drink your Ovalitine.

 

[Monty]

Aw shucks I ain't no treasure hunter atall. No, I don't care about treasure much. Unless it was a billion dollars I would just as soon have artifacts, something I can hold, study and ponder about those that came before were doing. I don't want to take this too serious or it won't be fun anymore. It would be nice to render something from these sites but if I don't I won't be too dismayed and I'll just move on to the next one.

 

[stoney56]

That's the idea, Jim. Cuts down on the stress, having fun, and keeps ya young-at least in heart. Of course, a little extra capital for those high gas prices doesn't hurt any either. HH

 

[Floater]

LOL well Said Jimmelo. Hec Treasure to me is Finding My glasses when i drop em.

 

[Bossgobbler23]

I hunted a similar site as you are describing. There was much debris including a lot of melted lead and iron debris. In 3 searches of the lot I found an old decorative brass or copper hinge and plate that must've went to a drawer, a round silver tie pin with decorative horse shoes and clovers on it, 1 merc, 1 wheatie and my first two Indian heads.
All the objects except the wheatie came within the first 15 feet of the existing front corner sidewalk. I got lucky in that I must've stumbled upon where the entrance of the original building was. The rest of the whole lot only produced the 1 wheatie. Try hard in the front section and watch for the odd looking/sounding object(s) as masking will happen here.

 

[wepc]

I usually find my best stuff near the street and sidewalks. I always hit every inch along sidewalks directly against them, because the people before you missed those areas.
I hunted an oldtown area, where they dug up the old sidewalks and street and replaced it all. I hit this area hard and only found two Barber dimes, and about five wheat pennies. Looking at this site, you would have expected much more.
I think there's competition on most obvious sites, so you have to be more thorough than other detectorists.

 

[rvbvetter]

? ? ? ? ?Some times they payoff sometimes they don't. Took my brother to a place like that. I hunted around where the houses were and found lead and copper junk and 1 wheat. My brother checked a 3 foot high pile of dirt off in the corner of the lot and got 1 standing lib. quarter 1 barber dime, 1merc dime and 2 indian heads. You just never know.? ?HH

 

[Monty]

I seem to be having better luck at old demolished homesites than the big commercial demolition sites.? There are two lots side by side that recently had the houses demolished that were built around 1910.? Every time I go there I find something interesting.? We just had a good hard rain and I expect to go back next week and find something else.? I have been finding a lot of marbles just on top of the ground and the rain seems to uncover them.? I remember as a child walking bythese houses and her stopping to visit as she seemed to know everyone.? An expressway has been built over where her house use to sit bit I can still make out where the old street was a few blocks south and adjacent to the expressway.? It has grown up in grass now but I saw two old catulpa trees that use to sit right next to the curb.? I am going to make a stop there next time I am out that way? and do some searching around those old trees.? This is history that I lived and more interesting to me than perhaps a "better" sight might be. And , Oh yes, my little 4" coil has really paid off big at sorting things out.

 

[rvbvetter]

Isn't that cool !?! And they say you can never go back. Thats what i like about detecting,because thats what we do! If you remember where the walks were from street to porches, check along those too. And keep posting. Anxiuos to hear what you find. Enjoy! HH

 

[sherpa t]

Along the lines of "you weren't there when they demo'ed the buildings to see where they were, It's quite possable to do alittle digging and find Ariel photographs, or Terra - server shots to check the pre-demo layout's.

 

[Monty]

Aerial photos, great idea, I have access to them through some contacts I made a few years ago. Thanks

P.S In my last post I meant to say I walked those old neighborhoods with my Grandmother as a child. I got interrupted during my posting and left that out! In looking back that last post didn't make much sense without that information.